Will this really happen?
The new version of the World Hockey Association had meetings last week and issued a press release. Included in the release were some pretty interesting things including franchise locations, talking about using the Skydome, and a team of Russians playing somewhere in Canada!!
The locations will be Quebec City, Toronto, Hamilton, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Portland, St. Louis, Chicago, and either Orlando or Miami. The tenth member: "a team of Russian players would be domiciled in a Canadian city to be announced at a later date. "
The Toronto group is headed by Gino Naldini and John Marshall who, according to a Slam! Sports article: "want to re-create the Toronto Toros and house the team at the massive SkyDome, beginning next December."
Regarding the Skydome, the article states:
"With a pre-game festival and concert included, the Toros would charge $5 to $45 for tickets. The plan is to install a permanent ice surface under the SkyDome turf. Some games could be played with the SkyDome roof open. WHA reps have met with SkyDome officials three times."
The Quebec group is represented by Jean-Paul Boily, a local investor, lawyer and mining entrepreneur, according to CBC's Peter Black.
Mario Frankovich, President & CEO of Burgeonvest Securities leads the Hamilton group.
No clue as to who would own the Russian team but you have to wonder if Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is involved (more likely the WHA hopes is involved) after the rumours of his buying the Canucks died down.
Could this really happen? I think the fans would support an alternative to the NHL if there were recognizable players and the tickets were priced right. Would they proceed if there was no lockout? - I doubt it.
Nice quote from Bobby Hull at the end of the Slam article:
"We're doing what the NHL has been giving lip service to for years," Hull said. "Why was the game so great for 75 years and they didn't have to change any rules? Now, the last few years they've had to change. Why? Because they're not playing the game the way it should be played, they're not playing within the rules and not allowing talented players to play. That's why they're having problems."
Hull said he expects an NHL lockout next September and thinks 75-80% of players would become free agents, making them available to the WHA, which could feature four-on-four hockey and already has endorsed no red line. The WHA has a $10-million salary cap, with a marquee player bringing in an additional $3 million.
The locations will be Quebec City, Toronto, Hamilton, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Portland, St. Louis, Chicago, and either Orlando or Miami. The tenth member: "a team of Russian players would be domiciled in a Canadian city to be announced at a later date. "
The Toronto group is headed by Gino Naldini and John Marshall who, according to a Slam! Sports article: "want to re-create the Toronto Toros and house the team at the massive SkyDome, beginning next December."
Regarding the Skydome, the article states:
"With a pre-game festival and concert included, the Toros would charge $5 to $45 for tickets. The plan is to install a permanent ice surface under the SkyDome turf. Some games could be played with the SkyDome roof open. WHA reps have met with SkyDome officials three times."
The Quebec group is represented by Jean-Paul Boily, a local investor, lawyer and mining entrepreneur, according to CBC's Peter Black.
Mario Frankovich, President & CEO of Burgeonvest Securities leads the Hamilton group.
No clue as to who would own the Russian team but you have to wonder if Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is involved (more likely the WHA hopes is involved) after the rumours of his buying the Canucks died down.
Could this really happen? I think the fans would support an alternative to the NHL if there were recognizable players and the tickets were priced right. Would they proceed if there was no lockout? - I doubt it.
Nice quote from Bobby Hull at the end of the Slam article:
"We're doing what the NHL has been giving lip service to for years," Hull said. "Why was the game so great for 75 years and they didn't have to change any rules? Now, the last few years they've had to change. Why? Because they're not playing the game the way it should be played, they're not playing within the rules and not allowing talented players to play. That's why they're having problems."
Hull said he expects an NHL lockout next September and thinks 75-80% of players would become free agents, making them available to the WHA, which could feature four-on-four hockey and already has endorsed no red line. The WHA has a $10-million salary cap, with a marquee player bringing in an additional $3 million.
